Which One Is True? There Is No Problem with DepEd K + 12, Or Is There a Problem?

From Journal Online, 

DepEd: No problem with K to 12 program

"FOLLOWING the formal signing into law of the K to 12 program, the Department of Education (DepEd) said he sees no problem in reaching a higher number of enrollees for preschool children before classes formally open on June 3. 

DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro said based on their datas, there are already 2.2 million children enrolled in kindergarten."

From Manila Bulletin,

61,510 Teachers needed; many found unqualified — DepEd

The Department of Education (DepEd) is having difficulty filling new teacher positions, especially for kindergarten, because “many of the applicants were simply not qualified,” Education Secretary Armin Luistro said yesterday. 

Luistro said there are 61,510 vacancies needing to be filled for school year 2013-2014. 

While there are many graduates who have already passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), but DepEd “cannot accommodate all of them if they are not qualified because our students will suffer.”
When the DepEd began looking for teachers to fill up the vacancies, particularly for kindergarten, “we found out that there were not enough qualified teachers for the kindergarten positions,” Luistro said.

Lessons from Chile: School Choice

With access to quality education not being provided to all, there is that lingering suggestion of recruiting the private sector to fill the gap and solve the problem. School choice is heralded as a way to solve ailing public schools. Armed with the impression that private schools do a better job in educating children, the idea of providing the poor access to these schools seems inviting. Whether such an approach can in fact succeed on a large scale requires careful examination and data. There is one country that can provide such information. Chile has extensively provided vouchers for the past three decades, financing both public and private schools. Thus, during this ample period, there is enough data that can help answer the question on whether school choice does make quality education more accessible to disadvantaged children. The answer from Chile is "No".

The following is a paper published a year ago in the International Journal of Educational Development:

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The first paragraph of the author's conclusion section is as follows:

Consistent with previous research, I find that public schools are more likely to serve disadvantaged (low socioeconomic status and indigenous) student populations than private voucher schools. I also find that disadvantaged students are less segregated in the public sector than in the private voucher sector. These results are not surprising given that public schools are mandated by law to accept all students who apply, regardless of ability to pay, while private schools are permitted to use parental interviews to select and expel students as they see fit. I also find evidence that these aggregate patterns may be masking some differences across private voucher school sectors. For-profit schools, surprisingly, are more likely to serve disadvantaged students than non-profit voucher schools. However, disadvantaged students in for-profit schools are more isolated from their more advantaged peers than in non-profit and public schools. This suggests that this sub-sector of schools is finding market niches in both low and middle-income communities.

The author likewise pointed out an interesting finding regarding Catholic schools in Chile. It appears that Catholic schools enroll a very small fraction from disadvantaged homes, smaller than other private schools. Two reasons were offered by the author. One is that Catholic schools are now relying more on lay people for their teachers and staff. This translates to higher costs of operation. This, however, is true for other schools. A second reason is that the clients of these Catholic schools are indirectly demanding that the schools remain selective and enroll only children from privileged families. Responding to market incentives can alter the objectives of a voucher program. This perhaps is the underlying issue explaining why school choice does not deliver what it promises.

And for Catholic schools, it is refreshing to hear Pope Francis say the following:

"Men and women of the Church who are careerists, social climbers, who use the people, the Church, brothers and sisters - those they should serve - as a springboard for their own ambitions and personal interests do great damage to the Church."

The Failure of Market-Oriented Education Reforms in the US

Reform measures, such as teacher evaluations based on students' test scores, closures of low-performing schools, and school choice by increased access to charter schools, are the major market-oriented changes in K-12 education in the United States. Examining the learning outcomes of students in schools in Chicago, New York City and the District of Columbia, cities that have implemented these reforms, shows no significant positive impact from these market-oriented measures. This is the conclusion of a recent study by Elaine Weiss and Don Long. The study, "Market-oriented education reforms’ rhetoric trumps reality", has the following key findings:


KEY FINDINGS
The reforms deliver few benefits and in some cases harm the students they purport to help, while drawing attention and resources away from policies with real promise to address poverty-related barriers to school success:

• Test scores increased less, and achievement gaps grew more, in “reform” cities than in other urban districts. 
• Reported successes for targeted students evaporated upon closer examination. 
• Test-based accountability prompted churn that thinned the ranks of experienced teachers, but not necessarily bad teachers. 
• School closures did not send students to better schools or save school districts money. 
• Charter schools further disrupted the districts while providing mixed benefits, particularly for the highest-needs students. 
• Emphasis on the widely touted market-oriented reforms drew attention and resources from initiatives with greater promise. 
• The reforms missed a critical factor driving achievement gaps: the influence of poverty on academic performance. Real, sustained change requires strategies that are more realistic, patient, and multipronged. 

The following are infographics, each addressing one aspect of market-oriented education reforms:

Downloaded from http://www.boldapproach.org/rhetoric-trumps-reality

Downloaded from http://www.boldapproach.org/rhetoric-trumps-reality

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The first two paragraphs of the study's conclusion are as follows:

Jason Stanford, after referring to this study, wrote on the Huffington Post, "Time to Stop Waiting for Superman. Stanford concludes:

"There was no DC miracle. Browbeating students and teachers into raising scores on state tests only makes them better at taking state tests, and reforming our schools in hopes of replicating an illusion is a petty crime against humanity. Even George W. Bush was forced to admit there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and we've long since gotten over the shock that Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire were juiced more than a Florida orange grove. We believe lies at our own peril. It's time to stop waiting for Superman and focus on the hard work of teaching our children the way we know works."

K-to-12 won't solve high unemployment among 'educated workers'

http://www.ibon.org/ibon_articles.php?id=303
IBON NEWS | 20 May 2013 | Latest official figures show that in 2012, almost eight out of 10 unemployed are high-school or college-educated.

Above drawing downloaded from
Ibon Foundation Facebook page

Government’s recent pronouncement that the growing number of unemployment among educated workers is a result of jobs-skills mismatch does not address the reasons behind job scarcity in the country, research group IBON said.

Latest official figures show that in 2012, almost eight out of 10 unemployed are high-school or college-educated. Three out of 10 reached college-level of education or are even graduates of post-graduate studies, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).

The research group said that majority of Filipinos are finding it difficult to get jobs because employment is scarce, and not because it reflects a mismatch between the school curriculum and job availability. IBON added that the job scarcity in the country is due to a weak industrial sector, particularly domestic manufacturing, which would have created sufficient jobs in the country. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its 2013 report also recognized that a strong industrial base is vital in increasing jobs and making growth more inclusive and sustainable.

With the absence of government resolve to substantially increase the education budget, the lack of decent jobs in many parts of the country remains a barrier for parents to send their children to school, whether under a 10-year or 12-year education cycle. On the other hand, the same lack of decent jobs is to blame for graduates failing to land the much-needed jobs. NSO figures show that on the average, there are 1.4 million Filipinos under 15-24 years old who did not have jobs in 2012. Year on year, youth unemployment rate was higher in January 2013 at 16.6% compared to the same period in 2012.

According to IBON, reforms on the educational system, such as the recently-signed K to 12 Law, only focus on building skills needed by the global market. With K to 12, students are expected to work after taking up vocational and technical trainings in high school. The curriculum changes remain unsupportive of a progressive economy where students’ skills are developed to contribute to its development.

Changes in curriculum should reflect the country’s development aspirations, the research group said. However, there is apparently no learning area or competency in the present K to 12 curriculum that aims to develop the ingenuity and capacity of Filipino students to develop new technologies and build new forms of knowledge needed to help strengthen the country’s industries. These would have helped create meaningful jobs and provide a sustainable solution to the country’s chronic jobs crisis. (end)

IBON Foundation, Inc. is an independent development institution established in 1978 that provides research, education, publications, information work and advocacy support on socioeconomic issues.